The Chicago Police Department's culture of silence and treatment of citizens are in line for a massive vetting by the Justice Department's Office of Civil Rights. That review is going to draw attention to some ugly truths about Chicago.

The mayor's task force will work quickly on reform recommendations.

The U.S. attorney's office is still investigating the shooting — and the stark conflict between what police officers on the scene said happened and what the whole world could see happened.

Emanuel was most emotional, most emphatic, when he talked about driving fundamental change in how Chicago's police deal with the city's citizens. With all the focus to come in weeks, months, years, that might actually happen.

There's another fundamental change, though, that's key for this city and this mayor. Emanuel has to recognize how he often is his own worst enemy.

It took a judge's order to shake loose the police video that shows Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting McDonald in the back and continuing to fire at his crumpled body. Emanuel's lawyers fought to keep it secret and brokered a $5 million settlement with McDonald's family that included a no-release clause.

Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder the same day the video was made public — 13 months after McDonald's death.

Emanuel initially resisted calls for a Justice Department investigation. He has since embraced that review. But he has sounded like a guy who wants to lead the parade after first denying it a permit.

"Every day that we held on to the video contributed to the public's mistrust," Emanuel acknowledged.

Does he understand the depth of that mistrust? Can he curb his instinct to control every news cycle and narrative, to stall the public release of vital information? He won't regain the public's trust until he does.

There's evidence of possible obstruction of justice by those officers at the scene. If so, how far up did it go? Chicagoans are entitled to the facts about all of that.

They deserve to hear from the mayor. They deserve more than talking points and assurances. No more stonewalling requests for information that doesn't reflect positively on City Hall.

Requests for public records under the state Freedom of Information Act are routinely denied. The city runs out the deadlines and extensions, hoping the requester will go away. If you want something badly enough, you'd better be prepared to sue.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel stands at the center of a crisis that threatens his administration, his political viability and his legacy.

Revelations about the city's handling of the 2014 fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald have provoked charges of a cover-up. A rising chorus is calling...

That's what happened when reporters asked for data from the city's scandal-ridden red light cameras, for lists of police officers who have been accused of misconduct repeatedly, for emails related to a $20.5 million no-bid contract that led to a federal bribery conviction against the Chicago Public Schools CEO.

It's what happened with the Laquan McDonald video. A judge finally told the city to hand it over.

Next time, every time, City Hall has to be the first to push for open, transparent government, not the last.